Bellows Falls High School - Sampler Yearbook (Bellows Falls, VT)

Page 25 text:

THE S A M PLER 23 intensively as one would study a period in American History, or any other school course, endeavoring to learn about the kind of work done, and the people who do it. Information should be secured from dependable books and other literature, and advice from vocational counsellors. If possible, he should enter some new voca- tion which needs supporters. Society cannot support too many people in any one vocation and a career in an overcrowded field should be avoided as much as possible. A person should not say that he is going to be this or that without first considering the time, expense, and hard work that he will have to put into it. Many young men and women do this without thinking, and are bound to be disappointed. For instance, a young man may say he is going to be a doctor. He gets half way through college, and then finds out he has not money enough to finish his education, or that his health cannot endure the very hard work that this vocation requires. Such choices are made, because most young men and women know of only a small number of vocations and make their choices from these few. If they knew of the great number of interesting vocations that exist, many of them would not be disappointed and would lead a much happier and more profitable life. It has- been found out that the average boy wants to be either a dentist, a lawyer, a doctor, or an en- gineer. These occupations would be too over- crowded if each of these boys succeeded. They choose from this limited list, because they do not know of the other vocations, or try to find out. They do not know that there are hundreds of vocations that are not over- crowded, and perhaps are more interesting to them. Some of these vocations are: apiarist, tree surgeon, aerial photographer, bacteriolog- ist. credit investigator and assayer. Young women, too, do not know of the many unknown vocations that exist. Seventy-five per cent of the high school girls of today want to be secretaries, school teachers, nurses, or stenographers. Some interesting careers that are very seldom chosen by young women are: illustrator, post mistresss, interior decorator, taxidermist, court stenographer, credit in- vestigator, photographer and stylist. As has been stated, before selecting a career look around and get a panoramic view of the various fields that are open, make a list of fourteen or fifteen that interest him, narrow it down, and study in this way, the ones he still thinks suitable to himself. Before we take up the method of studying a career, constantly keep in mind the essential question, “If I do this, where will I be twenty years from now?” The next important thing a person must consider is, to find out the importance of his planned work to social welfare. In connection with this, he must ask himself, “Is the occu- pation necessary to the public; is the thing produced a luxury or a necessity; is the product continually in use, or could the world do with- out this occupation?” These are important questions, because if the product is a necessity then the occupation will have a better and more lasting future. If the world cannot do without the kind of work that a particular oc- cupation gives, then, too, the future of that vocation will be more profitable and successful. A person studying the occupations must analyze his work in them carefully. In order to get worthwhile information on this, a good plan would be to visit a person while he is on duty in a particular occupation, so that he may get an idea of a typical day’s work. Therefore, he must take one man’s working day in this occupation, outline it. and try to fit himself into a similar day’s work. In doing this, he can also list the different lines of work in one certain vocation and select the ones that interest him most, and prepare himself for them. Too often one looks for the bright side of the work, but very seldom picks it apart to find out the disadvantages and the disappointments he will encounter. It is well to consider all the good points, but one must not forget the bad points, either. If he does become acquainted with what he will have to put up with, then he will accept these unpleasant sides as a part of the day’s work when they finally come, instead of becoming discouraged. Then he must consider his income. If there are many chances for promotion in his work, his income will undoubtedly increase fre- quently. One should find out what his income will be'the first year, the fifth year, and the tenth year. This will help a great deal in find- ing out whether or not the interesting voca- tions will still be interesting ten or twenty years from now. The conditions under which he will have to work are an important item. He should think whether or not he will be happy under these conditions, and if they will make his work con- genial. Besides reading all he can about the occupation, a person shdlild never neglect the opportunity that he usually has, for discussing thoroughly, the occupation with a person who is successful in it. Also he must consider his health very care- fully, for without this, what happiness or

Page 24 text:

22 THE SAMPLER “A Little Bit Independent”...................................Margaret McDonald “Alone at a Table for Two”....................................John Dedrick “The Gentleman Obviously Doesn’t Believe”.....................Bernard Hitrusko “He Wooed Her”...............................................Norman Thompson “A Hunting We Will Go”.......................................Melvin Miller and ? “I Don’t Work for a Living”...................................Leo Knights “Have You Ever Been Lonely?”..................................Doris Dewey “Swing High, Swing Ix w”.....................................Margaret Kennedy “The Love Bug Will Bite You”..................................Katherine GrifHn “Smile Awhile”...............................................Michel Jurkoic “Roaming in the Gloaming”....................................Thomas Powers “Just One More Chance”.......................................Alvena Waysville “On Cocoanut Island”.........................................Donald Shaughnessy “One in a Million”...........................................Ruth Taylor “Short and Sweet”............................................James Lindstrom SALUTATORY Parents, teachers, friends. Several years ago in many different parts of this country, the members of this class started out on life’s journey. We passed the first big milestone on this journey when we entered school and at- tained some individual responsibility. Small groups gathered together from time to time until tonight as one big group we have reached another milestone. This milestone is desig- nated at the same time by two words—com- pletion and commencement. These two words seem to have opposite meanings; yet, they are closely related. For what is the completion of one task but the commencement of a new one? We use the word commencement to designate the day on which we lay aside forever the school work which we have carried on for so many happy years. Completion might seem a more appropriate word; yet the end of our school work but marks the beginning of the still greater task of earning our own living. For some of us it means the end of carefree, happy school days and the going out to make our own way in the world, wit hout the guidance which we have had during our high school years. For others, it marks an important step before going on with further study in prepara- tion for our chosen careers. These careers will eventually again scatter us in many directions. The good which we derive from our college work, and the success of our careers will depend upon ourselves. We must strive conscientiously toward one goal, and we hope we shall find satisfactory answers to our motto: “Today we launch; whither shall we anchor?” Tonight, on behalf of the class of 1937, I am very glad to welcome the parents, relatives, and friends who have come to see us receive the reward for reaching the goal toward which we have strived together for so many years. “We entered to learn; tonight, we go forth to serve.” Ruth Taylor. HOW TO STUDY VOCATIONS A question that perplexes every young per- son is, “ What shall I be? ” Most young people think that if only they can get into the right vocation, the one vocation into which they were born, they would be assured of a suc- cessful career. This is a wrong opinion. No person is born into any special vocation, but must select one for himself, study it and adapt himself to it, in order to be a success. Too many young people depend upon astrologers, fortune tellers and phrenologists to advise them upon their future careers. These fortune tellers, phrenologists and astrologers cannot give any truthful advice to these young people. No one person or magic sign can answer the question for them. They musts elect their own career in this way: This problem of selecting a career is two- fold: first, to study the occupations and to ascertain their requirements, and, second, to analyze one's self in order to see how well he would fit into a certain vocation. Let us consider the first step on how to study and ascertain the requirements of the different vocations. First, a person must get, by reading and study, a panoramic view of the vocations that exist. He must then list twelve to fifteen of the ones he likes best and think these over carefully. After this has been done, he must narrow his list down to three or four as his preference requires. In taking this step he must ask himself this question: “If I do this, where will I be twenty years from now?” Then, he must make an intensive study of the three or four vocations that still interest him. These vocations must be studied as

Page 26 text:

24 THE SAMPLER profit can be obtained from a might-be very successful career? Last, but by far not the least, he should make an accurate list of the requisites lor entering his preferred career. This should be considered early in life, so that he may start preparing for his life work, even while he is in high school. He must learn whether or not a college education is necessary or desirable, and if any special training must be obtained. If special training is required he must find out where he can get it, how long it will take, and how much it will cost him. If an apprentice- ship period must be served first, he must figure on this also. Thus, it is very clear that the process of choosing an occupation is not one of accident or chance, but is the result of years of careful thought and planning and study. Kathryn Kelley. SELF-ANALYSIS Self-analysis is one of the major steps one must take if he is trying to choose intelligently a suitable career for himself. Self-analysis is very difficult since there is no definite method for a person to follow when analyzing himself. It is easy enough to measure one’s height and weight but to measure our artistic or me- chanical talents, our perserverance, accuracy, and ability to co-operate with others is a dif- ferent matter. One can not, however, put himself into the right career by guessing. Years ago when a child was born, sometimes a Bible, a coin, and a bottle were placed before him. If he chose the Bible, people said he was destined to be a minister, if he reached for the coin, a banker, and if he reached for the bottle, of course, a failure. There are many false and unscientific ways of guessing what your future is to be; such as counting the buttons on your coat or calculating the stars and planets under which you were born. Some psychologists think that tests may he of some value in self- analysis. There are tests that may help a person to detect color blindness and others which show certain qualities necessary in some occupation such as aviation, but there are no tests to show a person just what line of work he is best suited for. Tests can only indicate aptitudes or leanings that a person may have for and toward certain occupations or pro- fessions. Tests are just one of the many methods one can use in this process of trying to find himself. There is one mental trait, however, that can be measured objectively. This is general in- telligence. By this is meant the keenness. brightness, and mental alertness that one is born with. People differ greatly according to this trait. Although a low rate of intelligence is not a handicap in some occupations it is a great barrier in other lines of work. There- fore, when making such an important decision as that of selecting a career it is first best to measure our intelligence. Various intelligence tests are given in school which should be made out by reputable scientists. It is advisable for a person to examine his educational record when he is trying to find his ability along various lines. Not only colleges and technical schools but also large corpora- tions such as American Telephone and Tele- graph lay great stress on scholastic standing when they are considering a person for entrance or an applicant for employment. One should single out the subjects lie liked and made progress in in school. For example, if a person enjoys chemistry and dislikes farming he should not be a farmer just because his father or uncle is a farmer. If engineering is being considered a person should like mathematics and have rated well in school in that subject. While in school one possibly has become especially interested in languages, history, home economics, or algebra. Each of these subjects suggests a career and perhaps, one to which he might be adapted. A person should a'so be physically able to handle the duties of the occupation which he chooses. A young man who desires to be an architect and yet has weak lungs would not be able to spend the greater part of his time over a drafting board. He should seek another occupation such as that of the landscape architect which will afford him an opportunity to use his artistic talent along architectural lines but at the same time keep him in the open air. It is not enough to examine merely one’s intellectual, educational, and physical apti- tudes for a vocation. If a person is trying to choose intelligently a suitable career for him- self other factors—social and economic—are involved. The social factor is that which among other things shows whether or not a person likes meeting and mingling with the general public. For instance, a person who dislikes associating with people would have a very difficult time as a teacher, doctor, and especially a salesman. Instead he should try to choose occupations that do not require him to deal so constantly with people. By the economic factor we mean that which has to do with the financial side of preparation and entering into any occupation. A young man wishing to become a lawyer should be